


a sleeping world

by IncognitoDuck11



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Autumn, Coffee, Cozy, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Future Fic, Morning Cuddles, Sweaters, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27242362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncognitoDuck11/pseuds/IncognitoDuck11
Summary: There's absolutely nothing better than a warm bed on a windy autumn morning.
Relationships: Spencer Hastings/Aria Montgomery
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	a sleeping world

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write something soft and cozy for autumn :) 
> 
> Title from "Sleeping World" by Vancouver Sleep Clinic

-.-.-.- 

There's absolutely nothing better than a warm bed on a windy autumn morning. 

That's Aria's first thought as she drifts into that groggy place between awake and asleep, and she snuggles further into the weighty comfort of the quilts piled atop her, stretching a lazy arm out to the other side of the mattress, searching for the warmth of her girlfriend to cuddle up to. The sheets are empty, cold—naturally, Spencer is already up. 

Disappointed but not entirely surprised, Aria yawns, rolls onto her back, sprawls out and starts blinking the sleep from her eyes. Staring up at the ceiling, she listens to the wind howling outside, stirring up the trees so their branches shuffle against the window panes, and takes in a deep breath of cool, unmistakably coffee-scented air. Of course, that's what Spencer's up to.

Fondly shaking her head at the thought of her girlfriend's ineffable coffee addiction, Aria glances over at the window, watches particles swirl in the smoky beams of light that cut in through the gaps in the curtains, and hopes it will be nice out all day today, blue skies instead of rain, because today is their first simultaneous day off in what feels like forever. They plan to spend it indulging in all the things that make fall so great—carving pumpkins, traversing corn mazes, admiring the blaze of red and orange foliage outside. Aria is especially excited about the maze; she hasn’t been to one since she was a kid, and she knows Spencer loves them, even if she'll never admit it. 

She's just about to push herself upright, swing her legs out of bed to go hunt down coffee and her girlfriend, when she hears the telltale sound of bare feet padding down the hall, and not a minute later, Spencer shoulders carefully through the ajar door, holding two steaming mugs. She smiles gently when she sees that Aria is awake, ambling across the room to hand Aria her mug and saying softly, "Morning, babe." 

Aria smiles, sitting up to receive the warm ceramic cup. She cradles it between her hands, huddling over it and taking a deep sniff of the strong brew contained within. "Mm… good morning."

Spencer sits down on the edge of the bed, blowing gently at her own drink, and Aria takes a moment to admire her. She's wearing a gray sweater over a button up, and neat jeans, and her hair is twisted up into a rather effortless bun, loose tendrils of it softly framing her face. Her neck is exposed, looking dainty and elegant, and Aria finds herself wanting to trail kisses all along it. 

"What?" Spencer asks when she finally notices Aria looking at her. Her voice is still gravelly with sleep, but her coffee-colored eyes are bright and alert, glinting with amusement as Aria's lips quirk into a tiny smirk.

"Come back to bed," murmurs Aria, tugging playfully at the hem of her girlfriend's sweater.

Spencer rolls her eyes but grins, setting her coffee down on the nightstand. "You know it's almost noon, right?" 

"So? It's our day off," Aria reminds her. 

Spencer gets to her feet, raises her eyebrows and places her hands on her hips. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean we have to break healthy habits." 

Aria groans into her coffee. 

It never fails to make her jealous that her girlfriend is such a morning person, because Aria does like mornings, too, except for the waking up part. It's just that she usually feels like her head is stuffed full of dreams until around eleven o’clock, which means that half the work day is practically over by then. Spencer, on the other hand, sticks to routine and is efficient in everything she does. She wastes no time being cranky in the morning—nights are when she starts to crash like an overclocked computer. 

"Give me a break," Aria teases. "You wouldn't know healthy habits if they bit you in the ass." 

"Har har," Spencer says over her shoulder, striding over to the window and pushing back the curtains to let in ample amounts of bright, warm sunlight. "Contrary to popular belief, I have plenty of healthy habits." 

"Okay." Aria sips coyly at her drink. "Keep telling yourself that." 

Spencer just shakes her head, grinning, and comes back over to crawl under the covers with her. "Regularly cuddling my needy girlfriend is one," she says, propping up against the headboard and pulling Aria into her arms. Aria goes willingly, being careful not to slosh her coffee out of the mug as she lays back against the kitten-soft fabric of her girlfriend's sweater. "Lowers the blood pressure." 

"Is that a fact?" 

"Scientifically proven." Spencer kisses the top of her head, pulls the blankets up over them. Aria nuzzles into her neck, closes her eyes as she breathes in the scents of Spencer's expensive perfume and apple shampoo, and the collar of her shirt that smells like lavender fabric softener. "Physical affection raises oxytocin levels, which helps to reduce stress and produces a calming effect." 

Aria laughs lightly. "You're such an encyclopedia."

"And you've been proven wrong," Spencer says. "I do have at least _one_ healthy habit." 

"Fair enough, I guess." 

They settle down into a comfortable silence, just listening to each other’s slow, even breaths, and sip idly at their drinks. It’s a while before either of them speaks, and Aria is almost asleep when she hears Spencer murmur, “What do you want for breakfast?” 

Aria only has to think for a moment before deciding. “Those pumpkin pancakes I’ve been wanting to make.”

“Sounds good. Soup for dinner?” 

“Yeah.” Aria’s stomach growls at the thought of the leftover pot of chickpea noodle soup waiting in the fridge, and the vegan pumpkin pancakes she saw online. They bought the ingredients for them last time they went shopping because Aria had talked Spencer’s ear off about them for about a week. She’s suddenly starving for them, so she drains her coffee and sits up, nudges Spencer out of bed. 

Aria shivers when she slips her legs out from beneath the covers, tentatively resting her bare feet on the fluffy rug they have covering the hardwood floor. She curls her toes into it and sighs in utter contentment, then gets up and goes over to grab a hoodie off the chair sitting by the window. The street outside their apartment building is lined with trees bearing fiery colors, the sidewalks and roads covered in leaves, and the hoodie is Spencer’s. It smells like her. 

“Thief,” Spencer teases once she slips it over her head and turns away from the window. 

Aria pads over and pushes up on tiptoe for a proper kiss, and a different kind of warmth joins the coffee heat that pools low in her stomach. Spencer tastes like mint toothpaste and bitter caffeine, and a moan rumbles in her throat even though the kiss is relatively chaste. 

“Let’s go make those pancakes before we spend all day in bed,” she says when Aria pulls away, her eyes slow to blink open. 

“I’m not opposed to the idea, actually.” Aria laces their fingers together, pulls Spencer towards the door. “Pancakes first, then we’ll see.”

-.-.-.- 


End file.
